OUR HERITAGE

Community Bible Church adheres to beliefs that have been traditionally described as Baptist. We are proud to be associated with the historical Baptist distinctives (see below), and the many faithful Baptist churches, both past and present, that have effectively represented the Christian faith, both locally and throughout the world. However, since Baptist churches are self-governing, there is no denominational hierarchy that can prevent misuse of the name. Unfortunately, the ‘Baptist’ label has been adopted by many churches that teach aberrant doctrine (e.g. the King James Bible is the only inspired Bible in the English language), insist on extra-biblical practices as Scriptural requirements (e.g. women prohibited from wearing slacks), or engage in highly offensive and unchristian behavior (e.g. protests at military funerals)

So, while we are ashamed of the teaching and behavior of many ‘Baptist’ churches, we are in no way ashamed of our Baptist beliefs. There is nothing inherent in Baptist doctrine that leads to these false teachings and practices. But because these (and other) errors have become so widespread, and have had a negative impact on so many, we felt it necessary to distance ourselves from those who’ve abused and co-opted our name. In 2012 our congregation voted to change our name from ‘Baptist’ to ‘Bible’ for that reason.

The Baptist Distinctives can be represented with the following acrostic: